Social Distortion

MUSIC - RECORDS

May 22, 1992|By Parry Gettelman of The Sentinel Staff

*** Social Distortion, Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell (Sony): On his second major-label album, Social Distortion front man Mike Ness continues to blast out the same brand of tortured-but-resigned, melodic punk he has been playing since 1979.

Ness' aching snarl still carries a lot of conviction, and there are nifty pop hooks and country inflections in such songs as ''Cold Feelings,'' ''Bad Luck'' and ''Born to Lose.'' The band is solid, too. Unfortunately, after those first three tracks, the hooks get a little weaker, the tired-rebel theme gets a little, well, tired, and the blend of country and punk becomes predictable.

''99 to Life'' repeats its hook until it's worn out, and the I-killed-my-baby plot isn't developed or made vivid with detail. ''Sometimes I Do'' and ''This Time Darlin' '' drag a bit, too. A cover of the Sun Records' classic ''King of Fools'' isn't as inventive or fierce as the cover of ''Ring of Fire'' on Social D's last album. The bonus track, ''Ghost Town Blues,''

does have some spooky harmonica for a change of pace.

Taken by themselves, even the weaker songs aren't bad. But they're all fairly similar, and there's not enough variety in the execution or in Ness' vocals to mitigate that. After giving Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell two listens, it feels almost as if you've heard the same song 22 times.